The 50,000 pound Chandra X-Ray Observatory, launched during shuttle mission STS-93, should contribute immensely to our understanding of the origins of the Universe and the workings of black holes.

Chandra will collect and analyze high-energy light, in the form of x-rays, that will give clues to the origins of planets and galaxies. It will peer into the past to watch the violent births of stars so distant that the energy produced by the event took billions of years zooming at the speed of light to reach our solar system. X-ray telescopes give special, powerful views of these explosive events (see diagram).

The observatory will also give insight into mysterious black holes, which suck in dust and particles with their immense gravitational pull. As the objects move closer to the black hole, they approach light speed and form a rapidly-rotating disc. Collisions of these objects at near-light speed velocity produces immense heat, giving off x-rays. Analysis of this energy will give us the best look ever at the pull of a black hole and the fate of those objects that are sucked in.

Chandra could also solve the enigma of the existence of so-called dark matter, theorized to be invisible matter only identifiable by its gravitational pull. Observations have shown that groups of galaxies, called clusters, are filled with vast clouds of multi-million degree gas. These gas clouds are the most massive objects found in the Universe, but surprisingly, the gravitational pull of the clusters keeps the gas clouds in place. Scientists speculate that dark matter exists in the galaxies and provides the gravitational pull needed to hold in the clouds.

If this hypothesis is true, it would revolutionize our understanding of the Universe, as it would mean dark matter may compose the majority of all matter in the Universe. Chandra will give the best glimpse ever into these hot clouds.